Elena Salgado Méndez () (born 12 May 1949 in Ourense) is a Spanish politician of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Spain and held several ministerial portfolios during her political career.
Education Salgado is a graduate of industrial engineering.Biography, El Pais, Retrieved 10 April 2009 She has a master's degree in business administration.
Career Early in her career, Salgado held high-level positions at the finance and industry ministries;Jonathan House (8 April 2009), Spain's Zapatero Shuffles Cabinet The Wall Street Journal. Josep Borrell was considered to be a mentor to her.Miguel Ángel Noceda (8 April 2009), Salgado, primera mujer al frente de Economía por su "acreditada eficacia" El País. From 1996 until 1997, she briefly served as manager of the Teatro Real in Madrid.
From 2004 until 2007, Salgado served as Minister for Health and Consumer Affairs. In this capacity, she tried to implement the so-called wine law, a project to prevent alcohol consumption among minors; she confronted Burger King and urged the company to withdraw advertising for XXL hamburgers; and she advocated for genetic selection of embryos for therapeutic purposes.Miguel Ángel Noceda (8 April 2009), Salgado, primera mujer al frente de Economía por su "acreditada eficacia" El País. Most notably, she became known as the architect of legislation that banned smoking in public places.Jonathan House (8 April 2009), Spain's Zapatero Shuffles Cabinet The Wall Street Journal. In 2006, she was Spain's candidate for the post of Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO). Following a selection process with 11 candidates, she emerged as the only non-medical professional among the five finalists who also included Kazem Behbehani, Shigeru Omi, Margaret Chan and Julio Frenk; the position eventually went to Chan.Elena Salgado, entre los cinco finalistas para el puesto de director general de la OMS El Mundo, 6 November 2006.
As Minister for Public Administrations from 2007 until 2009, Salgado played a key role in overseeing the roll-out of a stimulus package of €8 billion ($10.7 billion) for infrastructure projects by city governments.Jonathan House (8 April 2009), Spain's Zapatero Shuffles Cabinet The Wall Street Journal.
Despite her Galician origin Salgado later served as a deputy for Cantabria province since the 2008 general election.
From 2009 until 2011, Salgado served as minister of Economy and Finance and as first and second vice president of Spain, in the Socialist Party government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Amid a cabinet reshuffle, she succeeded Pedro Solbes as Minister of Finance in April 2009 in what was considered a surprise move by Zapatero and thereby became the first woman to hold this position.Miguel Ángel Noceda (8 April 2009), Salgado, primera mujer al frente de Economía por su "acreditada eficacia" El País. At the time, she was one of the few to have been in all of Zapatero's governments, alongside María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, Elena Espinosa and Miguel Ángel Moratinos.Miguel Ángel Noceda (8 April 2009), Salgado, primera mujer al frente de Economía por su "acreditada eficacia" El País. She held the office until the fall of the Zapatero Administration in the 2011 general election.
When Spain held the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2010, Salgado chaired the meetings of its Economic and Financial Affairs Council. During her time as chair, EU finance ministers agreed on a deal that provided $560 billion in new loans and $76 billion under an existing lending program to countries facing instability amid the European debt crisis.Jack Ewing and James Kanter (10 May 2010), Europe Officials Move to Carry Out Aid Package The New York Times. Also in 2010, she helped launch the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), then a $875 million fund to help poor farmers, alongside several of her counterparts – Tim Geithner, Jim Flaherty and Yoon Jeung-hyun –, World Bank president Robert Zoellick and Bill Gates.Ewen MacAskill (22 April 2010), Bill Gates donates £20m to kickstart fund for farmers The Guardian.Fionna Douglas (22 April 2010), One more promise kept: the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program World Bank.
On 12 July 2011, Salgado became Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, equivalent to the position of First Deputy Prime Minister, a position that Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba decided to leave to prepare his candidacy for the 2011 general election.
In this capacity, Salgado led the central government's efforts in 2011 to force new budget controls on Spain's powerful autonomous communities – that control one-third of spending in the country – to ensure it meets its ambitious budget-deficit targets, including by establishing penalties for the regions that fail to meet their budget targets.Jonathan House and Daniel de la Puent (20 January 2010), Spain Looks to Broad Talks to Smooth Budget Consensus The Wall Street Journal.Jonathan House (25 July 2011), Spain Will Require Regions to Curb Deficits, Its Finance Minister Says The Wall Street Journal. She also temporarily reinstated a wealth tax on people with net assets of more than €700,000 ($962,780) in 2011 and 2012, a measure designed to help close what was one of Europe's largest budget gaps at the time while easing widespread voter discontent with spending cuts.Jonathan House (16 September 2011), Spain to Impose New Wealth Tax The Wall Street Journal.
Life after politics Since 2016, Salgado has been serving as president of the Asociación Española de Empresas de Consultoría (AEC), a lobby group.Santiago Millán Alonso (26 October 2016), Elena Salgado, nueva presidenta de la asociación de consultoras El País.
Other activities International organizations African Development Bank (AfDB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2009–2011)AfDB Annual Report 2010 African Development Bank (AfDB). Asian Development Bank (ADB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2009–2011)2010 Annual Report Asian Development Bank (ADB). European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2009–2011)2011 Annual Report European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). European Investment Bank (EIB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2009–2011)Elena Salgado, new Governor for Spain European Investment Bank (EIB), press release of 7 April 2009.
Corporate boards Doppel Farmaceutici, Member of the Board of DirectorsTalgo nombra a exministra Elena Salgado presidenta de su filial Motion Rail EFE, 2 October 2019. Trilantic Europe, Member of the Advisory CouncilAdvisory Council Trilantic Europe. Saba Infraestructuras, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2020)Saba nombra consejera a la ex ministra socialista Elena Salgado El Mundo, 22 June 2020. Motion Rail, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2019)Talgo nombra a la ex ministra Elena Salgado presidenta de la filial que competirá con Renfe El Mundo, 2 October 2019. Nueva Pescanova, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2016)Nueva Pescanova nombra hoy su consejo, con Elena Salgado Expansión, 25 February 2016. Chilectra, Member of the Board of Directors (2011–2015)Santiago Carcar (5 March 2012), Endesa ficha a Elena Salgado como consejera para su distribuidora en Chile El País. Abertis Telecom, Member of the Board of Directors (2003–2004) Hispasat, Member of the Board of Directors (1991–1996)Santiago Millán Alonso (26 October 2016), Elena Salgado, nueva presidenta de la asociación de consultoras El País. Renfe Operadora, Member of the Board of Directors (1985–1991)Santiago Millán Alonso (26 October 2016), Elena Salgado, nueva presidenta de la asociación de consultoras El País. Trasmediterránea, Member of the Board of Directors (1985–1991)Santiago Millán Alonso (26 October 2016), Elena Salgado, nueva presidenta de la asociación de consultoras El País.
Personal life Salgado has a daughter.Elena Moya (10 September 2009), Hedge funds are not for hedging, says Spain's finance minister The Guardian.
References